Jed Lowrie tosses the ball as Jonathan Lucroy of the Brewers slides. The Brewers beat the Astros 6-5 Monday at Miller Park in Milwaukee.

Jed Lowrie tosses the ball as Jonathan Lucroy of the Brewers slides. The Brewers beat the Astros 6-5 Monday at Miller Park in Milwaukee.

Photo: Scott Boehm / 2012 Getty Images

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Jed Lowrie is congratulated by J.D. Martinez after hitting a home run.

Jed Lowrie is congratulated by J.D. Martinez after hitting a home run.

Photo: Scott Boehm / 2012 Getty Images

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Jordan Schafer is attended to by a trainer and manager Brad Mills after he was hit by the baseball.

Jordan Schafer is attended to by a trainer and manager Brad Mills after he was hit by the baseball.

Photo: Scott Boehm / 2012 Getty Images

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Lucas Harrell of the Astros pitches during the series-opening game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Lucas Harrell of the Astros pitches during the series-opening game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Photo: Scott Boehm / 2012 Getty Images

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Jordan Schafer reacts after fouling a ball off his leg against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning.

Jordan Schafer reacts after fouling a ball off his leg against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning.

Photo: Jeffrey Phelps / AP

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Jordan Schafer slides into second base with a double against the Milwaukee Brewers during the third inning.

Jordan Schafer slides into second base with a double against the Milwaukee Brewers during the third inning.

Photo: Jeffrey Phelps / AP

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Jed Lowrie,left, is congratulated from J.D. Martinez after Lowrie's home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning.

Jed Lowrie,left, is congratulated from J.D. Martinez after Lowrie's home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning.

Photo: Jeffrey Phelps / AP

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Milwaukee Brewers' Corey Hart leaps at the wall but cannot come up with a home run hit by Jed Lowrie during the first inning.

Milwaukee Brewers' Corey Hart leaps at the wall but cannot come up with a home run hit by Jed Lowrie during the first inning.

Photo: Jeffrey Phelps / AP

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Jordan Schafer screams as he is hit by a pitch against the Brewers.

Jordan Schafer screams as he is hit by a pitch against the Brewers.

Photo: Scott Boehm / 2012 Getty Images

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Pitcher Lucas Harrell throws against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning.

Pitcher Lucas Harrell throws against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning.

Photo: Jeffrey Phelps / AP Photo

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Snyder's 'emergency hack' pushes Astros past Brewers

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Astros 7, Brewers 5
Tipping point: When J.A. Happ departed with four runs to his name, the bullpen took over and really took over. Wilton Lopez pitched a scoreless inning, getting him up to 122⁄3 without a walk, and David Carpenter, Wesley Wright and Brett Myers finished it off, allowing the Astros to make their run.

On the mound: Happ’s ERA rose to 4.70 amid some much improved peripheral statistics. He has now struck out 24 in his 23 innings of work and walked nine.

At the plate: Jose Altuve tied the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp for the National League lead with his 10th multi-hit game, while Chris Snyder recorded his first, including the go-ahead hit in the seventh inning.

Under the radar: This series was a perfect example of how these teams approach offense. The Brewers scored 20 runs on eight homers, claiming the NL lead in long balls, while the Astros scored 18 runs with the benefit of just one homer.

Weiland to miss Friday start

Kyle Weiland will miss his turn in the rotation with shoulder soreness, giving Wandy Rodriguez the start Friday in Cincinnati.

Since Thursday is a day off, Rodriguez’s start will be on normal rest, as will Lucas Harrell’s and Bud Norris’, pushed up to Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Weiland would be back in his No. 5 spot on Tuesday against the New York Mets if he’s ready to go. If not, a move could be made for that game. Weiland will be examined by team doctors in Houston on Thursday to learn more.

Weiland last started Saturday and gave up three runs on six hits over a career-high seven innings in a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he said the soreness began before that.

“It’s been building up a little bit since late spring training,” Weiland said. “Nothing too serious. It’s stuff that I’ve felt before, and I want to stop it before it gets worse.”

Sore Castro gets more rest

While manager Brad Mills anticipated Tuesday that his starting catcher would be back behind the plate Wednesday, that was not the case. Jason Castro was out of the lineup with neck soreness, a lingering result of his home-plate collision with the Brewers’ Mat Gamel on Monday.

Chris Snyder instead caught the day game after the night game, though Castro was available to play in case of injury or extra innings.

With Thursday’s day off, Castro gets four days between the injury and his return to the lineup Friday for the opener of a three-game set with the Reds.

“It’s still a little sore,” Castro said. “Day off tomorrow and maximize my amount of rest; that way I’ll be ready to go 100 percent when we start up in Cincinnati.”

‘Emergency hack’ beats the shift

Chris Snyder’s go-ahead single against Jose Veras in the seventh inning was the result of some good fortune and a Milwaukee defensive strategy that didn’t pay off.

Snyder said the Brewers have used the shift often on him in the last few years. In shifting against the righthanded hitter, Milwaukee pushes its fielders toward the third-base side of the infield, with the first baseman leaving lots of ground between himself and the baseline.

That’s exactly the tract that Snyder found, but he was hardly aiming for it on the 96 mph full-count pitch.

“That’s an emergency hack right there,” Snyder said.

Bogusevic tries it manager’s way

Brian Bogusevic went 2-for-4 with a walk on the heels of a conversation with manager Brad Mills.

“I want him to be a little bit more aggressive,” Mills said. “I may be completely wrong here, but I think a lot of (the weak outs) come from not being real aggressive, to where he’s getting behind in the count and now he tries to make contact instead of being able to stay aggressive and let it fly.

“So what happens is you make the contact, but it’s just a little ground ball.”

The lefthanded-hitting Bogusevic has been considerably more productive than his .207 average would indicate, since he complements it with a .343 on-base percentage and a .362 slugging percentage.